Ischnoceran Lice (Phthiraptera) of common birds of Karachi, Pakistan A Taxonomical Study of Chewing Lice (Part 1)

The suborder Ischnocera (Phthiraptera) comprises two families, family Philopteridae Burmeister and family Trichodectidae Kellogg. They have highly diversified forms of body, chaetotaxy and sizes. The members of Trichdectidae are exclusively mammalian parasites, whereas philopterids are truly avian parasites with high level of host specificity. In the Karachi Region, Philopterid genera have been surveyed out in the present work. The representatives of genera Anaticola, Brueelia, Campanulotes, Chelopistes, Columbicola, Cuclotogaster, Goniocotes, Goniodes, Lipeurus, Neopsittaconirmus and Sturnidoecus are included and described here with special emphasis is given to the structure and arrangement of setae and genitalia of male and female where available. The results are compared with findings reported in the existing literature. All the taxa are compared with their closest allies, and keys to the genera and species are formulated on the basis of reliable characters, which help readily identify the taxa.